For the past 3 years, this date has come with much fanfare and usually some giveaways. Today, Deliberate Women quietly tip-toes into its 4-year anniversary. 

2016 has been a year of quiet as far as this site and this blog. When I {Mandy} moved from Pennsylvania to Texas on January 1, 2016, I was all geared up to take Deliberate Women to the next level. The plans I labored over were aggressive and exciting. I was on fire!

It didn't take very long for me to see that all my carefully laid-out plans were going up in smoke. I felt crushed under the stress of a big move, unfamiliar surroundings, and the disappointent of my plans crumbling.  

God had been telling me for a while that the ministry I labored over wouldn't be like the others--those I'd emulated and admired. I wouldn't be like Lysa TerKeurst, She Reads Truth or any of the other "big name" women's ministries. Instead, my life would be my ministry. That phrase, "my life will be my ministry" kept echoing inside my head. I ignored it for a while, not sure what to make of it, but eventually, about 4 months into our new city, I started to see the picture God was painting. 

Instead of writing about sharing Jesus, I was going to live it out wholeheartedly. Writing would come second to real life, in-person relationships and experiences. As I began to embrace that, the Lord brought amazing people and opportunities, quite literally, to my doorstep. 

I can't begin to list all of the opportunities and God-orchestrated situations that the Lord has brought to me, but I will say that the walking-out part of ministry far supercedes the writing-about-it portion. 

I'm just beginning to see what the Great Commission really looks like and the way Jesus lived His life on earth. It's scary, yes, but it's addictive. I promise you, it is. No amount of fear (and many of you possess a GREAT DEAL of fear when it comes to thinking about sharing your faith with others) can compare to the eruption of joy and peace that surges through you when you walk into a situation that the Lord places before you--and when you see it through. 

Reading our Bible, engaging in Bible studies, regular church attendance, reading books by quality, credible authors, and the like all have a place in our lives, for sure. But there comes a time when we have to take a step out of our comfort zones, in faith, and put to practice all that we're learning. 

As we say goodbye to 2016 and usher in a new year both on the calendar and for Deliberate Women's ministry, our focus here will be to Educate, Equip, and Encourage you to step out. 

The beauty of this will be that even as we're challenging you to move outside your comfort zone, we will be doing the same. We're in this together. 

Let's strip away the fanfare, the hoopla, the bells and whistles, and get down to business. Let's take the next step--wherever the Lord is leading each of us--and allow Him to grow us, mold us, and stretch us to fit into His plans. 

In that vein, we have some things lined up for 2017 that we're really excited about, Lord willing. The first: The Hide Your Word 2017 Challenge. You can find the details for that HERE. We will commit to memorizing 50 selections of scripture throughout the next year so we get to know the Lord better and so we are equipped and ready to handle the challenges the enemy will throw our way. 

Some other things we're working out the details for include:

• EDUCATE: A new Deliberate Women Devotional called REVEALED, is set to publish in the first part of the year. This devo features seven women from the Bible to whom Jesus REVEALED different aspects of His character, and how that applies to women even in the 21st century. Meet Jesus through fresh eyes in REVEALED. 
• ENCOURAGE: We'd like to incorporate a new feature for praying for our community. On occasion, I post on our Facebook page that I'm available to pray for any who would like prayer. Beginning in the New Year, we plan to integrate some technology in our prayer sessions using Facebook Live so you can HEAR our prayers and comment your needs in real-time. 
• EQUIP: We're chewing on a new concept that {we believe} is largely missing from the Christian marketplace. This tool would provide practical, easy ways to share your faith. We're stepping beyond t-shirts and bracelets to engage others and actively live out the commision to GO (Mark 16:15).

We hope you join us here. Not because we want to boast about large numbers of people on our subscribers list or our Facebook page, but because one day we hope to stand beside you in Heaven while the Lord boasts about the large number of people we shared our faith with. Let's be DO-ers. Let's GO out into our circles and LIVE the Commission. Are you with me?

Here's to 2017 and 4 years of being Deliberate Women...

It's been a while since fresh content has been posted here on our site. We've taken this past year to really evaluate where God is calling us as individuals and as a ministry. For me personally {Mandy}, it's been a year of tremendous growth, stretching, and revelation.

I felt the Lord put a few themes on my heart early on last year. One was "They don't need your words, they need My words." I took that to heart and initiated the Bible in a Year Reading Plan on our site. We led our readers in sifting through 66 books of the Bible in chronological order. Our own words were cut down significantly as the blog largely remained silent in 2016. 

My family made a cross-country move that led us into unfamiliar territory with unfamiliar faces. We went through significant change as we selected a new church home, stopped homeschooling, enrolled our kids in public school, and got to know new neighbors. 

My husband and I took on new responsibilities in our personal and professional lives. He dug into his position at the non-profit that brought us to Dallas, and I began working part-time as a substitite teacher in our school district. There was almost no area of our lives that went untouched by change. We began navigating new waters as our oldest entered into the tween years and began middle school. 

Also in 2016, I felt the Lord lay some other thoughts on my heart. They were: "Your life will be your ministry", "You won't look like everyone else" {in the way I minister}, and the phrase "Home Church."

As the year comes to a close and I'm looking around the corner to 2017, I can see how those phrases have begun to play out already. 

I began Deliberate Women in 2012 when I felt the Lord challenge me to live my faith out loud. I was very careful how I acted in front of certain people. In front of other Christians, I was sold-out. In front of my non-believing friends, I was embarrassed to be "too churchy." I was living a dual life and the Lord made it abundantly clear that living like that brings Him no pleasure or glory. In an effort to be bold and transparent, I joined with four other women and we began sharing our hearts about how the Lord was leading us on the blog. 

As the years went by, and as we gained and lost faces on the team, each of us grew in our relationship with the Lord and many moved into different areas of focus. Some chose to focus solely on their families and in-person ministries. Others felt the Lord calling them away from this ministry altogether. It's been a season of growth and change.

2016 has opened my eyes to living out my ministry in my everyday in addition to online. God showed me that it was much easier for me to write about serving than it was for me to walk it out. This year He has provided opportunity after opportunity to live a lifestyle of service and faith. It's been nothing short of terrifying, humbling, and amazing. 

So, in 2017, DW has plans to bring you resources to do the same. Not only will we continue to lead our readers through studying His Word, but we will also be providing practical ways to live a life of bold faith and service right where you are. As well, we're issuing challenges to all of you for added accountability, encouragement, and to build community here. 

This is the year where we start LIVING out our name: Deliberate Women. 

We are women who strive to live a life of faith in God with purpose and diligence. 

We are intentional, measured, and thoughtful. 

Will you join us?

Change is usually hard. 

Stepping outside of our comfort zone is tough, especially if we've worked so hard to make our comfort zone cushy and safe. 

But God never called us to live in safety or comfort. He called us to GO and share the story of His life, death, resurrection, grace, and forgiveness with everyone. 

Join us in doing that in 2017!

Details to follow...